ignite your health

Tag Archives: perfection

If you’re following natural sleep patterns, you probably didn’t catch Jimmy Kimmel Live last week. (Its airs a bit late to accommodate my generous sleeping habits.) However, Jesse and I randomly caught this clip on Hulu. Jimmy asked people to videotape their kids’ reactions when parents jokingly told them that they had eaten all their Halloween candy. The results were hilarious. They are also very telling of the kind of hold that sugar has on our kids.

You would have thought you were telling some of these kids that a nuclear war was breaking out. What kind of news would you have to receive in order for you to react like that?

Can we really blame the kids? We know that food is essentially manufactured to be addictive. Its power over some is similar to street drugs, hence the name of this post. I have a particularly strong sweet tooth, myself.

Are there any mothers out there that indulged in sweet cravings during pregnancy? Or even breastfeeding? Eating something processed to be sweet during pregnancy, or “sugar bombs” as we call them around the office, can impact your children’s desire for sugary foods later in life. That third scoop of Cherry Garcia after a long day in your third trimester isn’t looking so justified anymore. The good news is that tastes can change, even our kids’.

So how do we get the kids off the sugar or at least loosen its drug-like hold on them (and us)? Even though it sounds extreme and tough to manage, the best bet would be following in Gisele Bundchen’s footsteps (never thought I’d say that). People reacted in surprising ways when she announced that her son “thinks broccoli is dessert”. People thought she was depriving her child of something; cake on birthdays and a bucket full of sugary crap on Easter. But maybe that’s not so crazy. Think about how much easier it would be to be healthy if we simply didn’t have the desire to ingest sugar. What if some fresh blackberries or a few beets completely satisfied our sweet tooth? Our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t have “fun size” snickers bars or freeze pops, and they didn’t have any problems with diabetes.

My advice? Focus on progression, not perfection. Start talking about healthy snacks like they are coveted treats around the kids. Get them excited about nutrition. Teach them the difference between sick and sad foods and happy and healthy foods. Make them understand that food is fuel for their bodies. If we’re honest with ourselves, its probably a good reminder for all of us.

Focus on progression, not perfection.You will make exceptional gains, while enjoying an extraordinary experience, if you simply focus on progression, not perfection. Your body and mind both thrive in environments of consistent stimulation, discovery and challenge. You benefit from the plastic effect when you are stretched beyond the limits of where you’ve been before. You grow when you progress.

We love to stay in our comfort zone. The COMFORT ZONE is a great place to rest, repair and reflect on what has been experienced – but no growth is found there. One concentric ring out from the comfort zone is the STRETCH ZONE. This is where we choose to turn up the heat and explore new territory. Beyond the stretch zone is the STRESS ZONE. This is the place that we visit to test our metal. We choose to temporarily step into this zone to accomplish specific things – and then get out of it as soon as we’ve completed our task or have decided that it is wise to retreat and regroup. If we don’t, we end up in the BREAKDOWN ZONE. This is where the wheels come off of the wagon – either mentally, physically, or both. We want to stay out of the breakdown zone.

Your brain will create new synapses and your muscles will adapt and grow with every additional challenge. The benefits of continually stretching yourself include, but are not limited to: increased strength, flexibility, stamina, speed, agility, balance, focus, alertness, memory and coordination.

“Emerging research shows that physical activity sparks biological changes that encourage brain cells to bind to one another. For the brain to learn, these connections must be made; they reflect the brain’s fundamental ability to adapt to challenges. The more neuroscience discovers about this process, the clearer it becomes that exercise provides an unparallel stimulus, creating an environment in which the human brain is ready, willing and able to learn.“Dr. John Ratey, Neuroscientist and Author (Spark, page 10)

It appears that exertion triggers the release of the neurotransmitter BDNH (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Hormone), which is the equivalent to “Miracle Grow” for the brain. And apparently, as we gradually increase the intensity of the challenge over time, the progression in our exertion is matched by the production of BDNH. The harder that we exert our selves, the more benefit we enjoy.

This should make us rethink our approach to schooling children: “Sit still and listen! Stop your fidgeting and pay attention!” How about the elderly? The research that supports activity benefiting seniors is compelling. How many people are left idle and wasting away in nursing homes? Budget restrictions cannot be the argument – exercise is free. We might even consider changes to our work spaces. Dr. John Madina, researcher and author (Brain Rules) has set up his computer monitor in front of a treadmill.

So whether you are a top athlete or a recently reformed couch surfer, progression is your new mantra. That may mean more minutes walking or seconds off of your 500M row. A Bonfire best practice is to journal your training. Write down your training schedule, routine, times, weights, distances or personal bests. Keeping a journal allows you to track your progress and keep yourself honest and objective. It is nice to feel like you’re making progress; it’s another thing to know that you are. Dreams become goals when you write them down, and accountability is king when it comes to progression.

Nudge yourself into pushing a little harder every time you workout or exercise. Recruit a friend, hire a personal trainer, watch training videos or train for a contest or event. These kinds of extrinsic motivators have been shown to increase the effectiveness of your efforts by multiples.

Often people are held back by the fear that they aren’t good enough or that they can’t do something perfectly. This never serves you. Focus on the growth that you enjoy just from the experience. Just do better than yesterday. Remember: progression, not perfection. The only thing that you can perfect is your effort.